


A Justin Jensen Thanksgiving

by RealDaveofDaves



Series: The Maze of Moments - A Clay and Justin Story [11]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 18:10:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16686535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealDaveofDaves/pseuds/RealDaveofDaves
Summary: In which Justin spends his first Thanksgiving with his new family...





	A Justin Jensen Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> Ye Writer shamelessly admits he named this story and certain characters after the holiday classics starring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang!
> 
> Also, this story takes place in the context of "A Maze of Moments - Book Two," coming Spring 2019! A few spoiler-ish (or, is that teasing?) things here and there!

Justin closed the front door behind him and locked it, and hung the keys to the Prius on the hook above the small table just inside the entryway when he heard it. It started out as a sort of skittering, then almost a gallop.

Confused by the sound, he turned and was about to walk into the kitchen so he could pass off to his adopted mother the sugar, butter, and jar of gravy he had been sent to the store to retrieve. "Just in case," Lainie had said, "we always seem to run out every year right in the middle of cooking." So, this time, she was bound and determined not to have that happen, and seeing as she had an extra pair of hands around this year, Justin had been tasked to join several dozen other last minute shoppers at the Walplex. He was one of the lucky ones who hadn't been scheduled to work this Thanksgiving Day.

The next day, though, Black Friday, he would have to be up bright and early for the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season and all of the retail madness that it entailed. Very early. Far too early.

Still, that was tomorrow. Today was turning out to be a really good day so far.

Actually, it was a really good week. The Liberty Tigers had won two out of three games the previous weekend in a tournament of regional high schools, a traditional kick off to the basketball season. Three games in three days was taxing, and by Sunday night he was wiped out. But, he and his team co-captain, Zach, had each averaged double digit scoring in all three games, and in one of them he made a double-double in points and rebounds. Meanwhile, Clay had his last cross country meet that Saturday morning, and had placed fourth in the five thousand meter run, finishing with a time of 17:26:29. That was good enough for him to qualify for the Regional finals coming up on Saturday. The school week itself was shortened due to the holiday, with classes dismissed after Tuesday.

Then, for the last several days, Clay and their parents had been talking up Thanksgiving. It was a family favorite, and even more so this year. After all, there was a new addition to the family to be thankful for, and Lainie planned on going all out this time. Her sister and brother-in-law would be joining them, young Chris in tow, as well as the grandparents and Matt's brother, Luke, and his wife, Hannah. Later that evening, the Gang would be coming over for a 'Friendsgiving' after they had celebrated with their own families.

Thanksgiving had never been that special of a holiday to Justin prior to this year. For many years he either had a frozen dinner of some kind with his birth mother or a turkey sandwich - sometimes not even those things. More recently, he wound up at the home of Bryce Walker, and while he was made to feel welcome, there had been a certain coldness to the whole thing as the Walker family seemed rather detached from it all. Nora Walker never bothered to make any of the dinner herself, leaving it to her cook instead, and Justin always felt guilty that someone had been pulled away from their family in order to make him Thanksgiving dinner.

But this year?

This year was turning out to be very different, and very special. Matt and Lainie excitedly made their cooking and baking battle plans several days in advance, and multiple shopping trips were made in between job responsibilities, cross country meets, and basketball games. Justin also leaned that Clay _loved_ Thanksgiving. It was all about the food, a break before the wind up to the fall semester, and all of the little Jensen family traditions. Like the night before, for example. After dinner and in between Lainie baking the first two of what would be four pies in total, they gathered in the living room to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," followed by "Gone with the Wind." Clay had explained that a few years back, it had come on Turner Classic Movies the night before Thanksgiving, and they decided to watch it every year from then on. It was Justin's first time watching it, and while parts of it were sort of boring and he had to ask what was going on a couple times, overall he had to admit he did enjoy it.

"Dude, Scarlett O'Hara was _hot_ ," he told Clay when the movie ended and they went upstairs to go to their respective bedrooms. "Kind of trifling, if you know what I mean, but hot."

"That's...wait, what? What does that even mean?" Clay replied, confused.

"Never mind, bro. I'll tell you when you're older," Justin winked back. 

Hearing that, Clay frowned and gently smacked his brother's arm. "I _am_ the older one. Remember?"

"Uh huh. And the 'little brother.' So like I said, I'll tell you when you're older."

"I'm just impressed that you know what that word even means, to be honest. It doesn't exactly sound like part of your vocabulary."

"I know words! Dumbass."

"Shut up, shithead."

Thursday morning was a whirlwind of activity from the get-go. He and Clay came downstairs for breakfast, and their parents were already hard at work.

"Boys," Matt instructed, "grab some coffee and a cinnamon roll and then you all can help. Justin, you're on chopping and peeling. Clay, you'll be on turkey prep with me, and then the ham."

Clay's face immediately registered his displeasure. "Um. Hey, JJ? Wanna trade off? Dad can show you all of the finer points of preparing a turkey and I'll peel veggies and whatnot? And then when I cut them, I can...get them the perfect size. No one wants overly big chunks of celery in their dressing, right? So I can do that. Yep." There was one part about Thanksgiving Clay most assuredly did not like, and that was getting his hands in a cold, dead bird. But he wasn't about to tell his brother that. Let the shithead find out for himself.

Justin shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind."

"Okay. Cool," Clay smirked back at him.

"Actually, Justin...eat up and then do me a favor and run to the store? I need you to get a few things. Just in case. We always seem to run out every year right in the middle of cooking. I want to nip that in the bud this time and not have Grandma Lucy be all....well...."

"Are you saying my mother can be too critical?" Matt asked with a wink, sounding a little like Tony.

"Never would dream of it, honey. To know her is to love her," Lainie rolled her eyes.

"Grandma Lucy can be very opinionated at times," Clay explained. "Especially when it comes to cooking."

"Yes. Yes, she can. Not to say that Grandma Sally isn't either, but..."

"Now, are you saying _my_ mother can be too critical?" Lainie teased.

"Never, dear. Wouldn't think of it." Matt smiled and kissed his wife's cheek before turning his attention back to the his station at the counter and the loaves of bread he was tearing for dressing.

Having poured himself a cup of coffee and taking a sip, Justin stood back some and smiled at his family, watching them playfully interact with one another and concentrate on their tasks on this busy day. Matt with the white and wheat bread, going into a minor dissertation about why it was important to toast the pieces in the oven first before mixing in the other ingredients; Lainie telling Clay that it didn't matter if he hated chopping onions, they made everyone cry when they did it and, after all, he volunteered to switch jobs with Justin and to just deal with it (all that said with a grin and a loving nudge); Clay, trying to juggle eating a cinnamon roll, drinking a cup of coffee, and an armful of vegetables that Lainie had handed over. Though there was a sort of controlled chaos to it all, there was no yelling, no condescension, no feeling out of place.

This was home. It was warm and loving, and it was going to soon be filled with even more family and friends. And just as he did almost every day, he had to stop from pinching himself to make sure it was all really happening. His friends and teammates had always talked about big family gatherings, and now he was finally going to be able to share in those conversations. Taking it all in, he smiled again to himself.

"Justin. Butter, small bag of sugar, one more jar of gravy. Soon, please," Lainie instructed as she added a bunch of celery to the cornucopia Clay had in his arms. 

Gulping down the rest of his coffee, Justin put the mug in the sink and turned to go back upstairs to change clothes. "On it, mom!"

So, that was how Justin had been sent to the store that still somewhat early morning.

And had come home to hear a galloping coming closer.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey guys, I'm ba....what the....AHHH!"

Justin had turned after hanging up the keys, and his eyes widened as the largest dog he had ever seen in his life, brown colored and drooling a little, came running at him, full tilt, and jumped up, placed its paws on his shoulders, and started to slobber on him. He had little choice but to be backed up to the front door.

"I can explain!!" Clay said running down the hall. "Tank! Tank, you let Justin come inside! Down, Tank!"

"Clay," Justin said, his voice muffled by the large head of Tank. "When did we get a horse?"

"Tank...Tank you get down and leave Justin alone for a minute!"

Panting excitedly, Tank got down and sat in front of Justin, his tail wagging happily.

He tried again. "Clay. Why do we have a horse dog?"

"Right, so Justin, this is Tank...."

"Yeah, we met." Justin brought up his arm and wiped the sleeve of his shirt across his face. It came back quite wet.

"...he's a Newfoundland, and he's Uncle John and Aunt Jenny's puppy."

Justin turned his head and stared at his brother for a moment. " _Puppy?!"_

"Well, yeah. He's not even two years old. Newfies get....big." Clay knelt down and rubbed Tank and nuzzled into him a little, getting a big slobbery kiss in return. "He's just a big baby, aren't you Tank?" Clay never did cease to surprise Justin at times - who knew his brother really liked dogs?

As Justin was about to say something back about how this was the biggest fucking puppy he'd ever heard of, more running down the hall could be heard.

"Ju'tin!!"

"Hi Chris!"

Justin knelt down and opened his arms to greet his little cousin. However, Tank mistook that gesture to mean that _he_ was going to get a hug and jumped up onto Justin again, knocking him flat on his back, much to the delight of Chris, who began to laugh.

"That's my Tank! He likes you!"

"Yeah...he does." Justin closed his eyes and turned his head, or tried to, as Tank licked and slobbered on him again. "He's very...happy. And big."

John, Chris' father, came around the corner and clapped his hands. "Tank, come on. Let Justin get up."

Tank happily complied, and that gave Chris the opportunity to jump onto Justin, knocking the wind out of him again. "Oof! Hi, Uncle John. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving to you, Justin. Come on Chris, let's go watch the parade on tv."

"Okay! C'mon Ju'tin!" Chris hopped off his cousin and followed his dad and Tank into the living room.

"Yeah...be there in a little bit..." Justin reached up and took Clay's hand and was helped up off the floor and they went into the kitchen. "Hi Aunt Jenny...Happy Thanksgiving. Here you go, mom."

Jenny smiled at her nephew. "I see you met our other child."

"Yeah, I did." He brushed some fur off of his shirt before kissing his aunt on the cheek.

"Go get cleaned up - again - and then we can work on this turkey together," Matt said. "You're going to learn a lot today!"

 

* * *

 

Matt looked at Justin solemnly.

"Are you ready, son?"

"I..I think so."

"Are you certain? This is one of the most important things a man can learn to do. It can make or end a marriage. Are you....sure?"

Clay put down the knife he was using and looked at his father. "Good Lord, dad.....really?"

"Matthew, don't be so dramatic," Lainie laughed. She sat at the kitchen table with her sister and sister-in-law, taking a well deserved break over hot tea.

Grinning, Matt proceeded to instruct his adopted son. "Well then. If you're quite ready....let us begin. First....reach into the carcass and feel around for the giblets and the neck."

Justin was about to do that, when he stopped. "Wait. I need to what now?"

"Just reach up in there and yank those things out."

"I've got to put my hands in this dead thing...."

Clay snickered and turned back to his chopping.

"Son, it'll be fine. Go on. There you go....no, no, deeper than that, get your hand up in there and feel around, you'll find them."

Making a face and looking at his father, Justin did just that. "Oh this is totally gross...and it's cold! Wait I think I have....ohhhhhh this is _nasty_ _,_ dad! It feels like a big...." He stopped in mid sentence, for the sake of his female relatives present. "Well it just feels all sorts of wrong!" Pulling out the neck, he quickly tossed it onto the waiting tray next to the turkey. "Ugh!"

"All right, good. Now...feel around for the giblets. They'll be in a bag."

"Ewwwwww...."

"Justin," his aunt Hannah laughed, "it's fine, it's not like anything is in there that will cut your fingers off or anything like that."

"This is kind of like an 'Aliens' movie, yeah..." As he felt around he looked down at Tank, sitting happily next to him. "Don't think you're getting any of this, big guy, it's bad enough my hand is in here." Tank panted and began to lick Justin's sock-covered feet.

"Tank has really taken to you." Clay wiped his hands on a towel that was slung over his shoulder before moving on to the next vegetable.

"Uh huh. Oh man! This feels even worse than the neck thing!" He pulled out the bag and tossed it next to the neck on the tray, and shuddered. "Yuck!"

Matt nodded his approval. "Good job. Now! Are you ready to separate the skin and massage the meat with butter?"

Justin made a pained face. "Clay....help?"

"Nope. We traded. Fair and square."

 

* * *

 

Following what would come to be known as "Justin's First Turkey Experience" in Jensen family lore, the men retreated to the back deck for awhile, as Lainie took charge of her kitchen again. Clay and Chris ran happily with Tank in the yard, while Justin sat and talked with his uncles and father.

"So," Luke began, "your first big family holiday."

"Yeah, it is."

"What do you think so far?"

"Well....other than having my hands in and all over a big dead bird, I'd say it's really good!"

Charles - Lainie's father - nodded in appreciation. "That's good to hear, Justin. Not about the dead bird part, but the rest. We're all so proud of you and happy for you to be a part of the family."

"Thanks, Grandpa. Ya know, I remember telling Clay at the adoption party that until now...I never had grandparents, and I always felt kind of left out in a way? So I'm really, really happy you're all here today. Thank you. All of you. I feel like I have a lot of lost time to make up for."

"Just remember," Frank - Matt's father - grinned, "who your _favorite_ grandparents are."

"Dad!" Luke and Matt said at the same time.

"I'm kidding, Charles."

"You'd better be! My Lucy wants to spoil this boy rotten enough as it is!"

"I mean, I won't turn down being spoiled! Just a little!" Justin laughed along with the rest of them. He told them about the school year so far and his grades (all Bs and one A so far, he reported proudly), the upcoming basketball season, his relationship with Jess, and what had happened with his birth mother, Amber. They each knew of the circumstances, having been informed by Matt or Lainie, and didn't pry too much. All the same, though, they were glad to see that Justin could be open and at ease in talking about it with them. After all, this was family - they weren't going to judge in any way, only support him.

Chris came running up, followed quickly by Tank and then Clay bringing up the rear. "C'mon Ju'tin!"

"Yeah," his out of breath brother panted. "Your turn. I need a break!"

"I thought cross country would have had you ready for this," John laughed.

"I'm usually not chasing or being chased by a hyper five year old and a hyper dog!"

"Ju'tin!"

"Okay, let's go buddy...come get me!" Justin laughed as he ran off into the yard.

Where he was promptly tackled by Tank.

And subjected to slobbering licks.

"Clay....help?"

"All yours, bro...we traded fair and square!" Clay laughed at his brother and looked at his relatives talking to one another.

Now was as a good a time as any.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes....

 

* * *

 

Hey. You there?

_Always. Where would I go?_

Fair point.

_Nothing's wrong, is there? There doesn't seem to be any..._

Oh, no. Everything is fine. Really. I just wanted to say something real quick is all.

_Oh, okay. Sure, what's up?_

So today is the day where we express what we're thankful for, and I really do have a lot this year. And this is going to sound...ridiculous? But...I'm thankful that you're around to help me out when I need it.

_You know if I could, I'd be crying and smiling right now..._

Weird.

_Little bit. But all the same...thanks, Clay. I appreciate it._

You're welcome, Clay.

_When do we eat?_

Later. Sometimes I think part of you is really Justin's psyche, you get hungry a lot!

_Hey, we just got through running around with a five year old and a big dog. Takes a lot of energy!_

Uh huh. Anyway. I just wanted to say that.

_I'm glad you did, Clay. Looks like Justin needs you...._

 

* * *

 

 

"Bro! Really! Little help here! Tank is....living up to his name!"

Laughing again, Clay got back up to rescue his brother.

 

 

* * *

 

"Lainie, this looks wonderful!" her mother-in-law, Lucy gushed. "All done at the same time, you didn't run out of anything...so well done!"

Breathing a little sigh of relief, she smiled and thanked her, walking into the full dining room with the remainder of the food.

"Now, you need to put a little more on your plate, Justin. You're still so skinny, I don't see how! Lucy, come tell our grandson he needs to eat more," Grandma Sally was piling food onto Justin's plate in a rather ridiculous amount.

"Grandma, really, it's fine! I run a lot in basketball, that's all!"

"You take care of him, Sal, I'm going to do the same to our other grandson. Lainie, do you not feed these boys enough?"

"I run cross country, I have a runner's body, Grandma Lucy..."

"You're thin like a displaced person. Take some more potatoes, dear."

Justin leaned over and whispered to his brother. "What's a displaced person?"

"No clue....but I feel like if we don't take more from them, they're gonna force feed us."

Plates filled, everyone sat around the table, Matt at one end, Lainie at the other. "Well, thank you all for being here with us today," he began, "and thank you so very much to everyone who pitched in and helped make this wonderful looking meal. Before we begin, it's customary to say grace, and Justin? Since this is your first Thanksgiving with us, would you like to do the honors?"

Justin's eyes widened at hearing this. It wasn't that he did not believe in a higher power, far from it. But churchgoing wasn't exactly his thing. True, he had attended with the family on a few occasions, but they never pressured him, knowing he was a bit uncomfortable at times. Jess brought him with her family to church a few times as well, much to her father's pleasure ("It'll be good for you," he explained, "you could use some Jesus in your life. Maybe more than most." Jessica was mortified at hearing that). And true, Justin prayed in his own way and on his own terms at times. This was a little unexpected, though.

"If we put you on the spot, son, you don't have to. Clay or I can..."

"No...no, I'd like to. May I have a quick minute to gather my thoughts?"

"Of course."

Justin closed his eyes, and even though they were, he could still see images in front of them, images of the people who had come to love him and who he loved in return. Matt and Lainie, his new parents, who opened their home to him; his new grandparents, loving and accepting and maybe even more excited than Matt and Lainie were that he was a part of their family now; his aunts and uncles, just as glad; his little cousin, who was always thrilled to romp and play; this new big fur beast of a dog, who was now curled around his feet under the table; all of his friends, the Scooby Gang, who had welcomed him with open arms and open hearts; and lastly, and most of all, Clay - his older "little brother," who forgave his shortcomings and faults just as much as his own were in return, who stood by his side, who shared his secrets, whom he loved with all his heart.

"I'm...I think I'm ready."

Eyes were closed and heads were bowed as Justin began.

"Thank you for this meal that we're about to share. Thank you for the gift of family and friends....those around this table, and those we know and love and are not. And most of all....thank you for second chances, which we sometimes get, but do not always deserve. Um. Amen. Was...was that okay?"

Matt nodded and smiled. "Perfect, son. Perfect."

"Nice job, shithead," Clay whispered. "Proud of you."

"Thanks, dumbass," he whispered back.

 

* * *

 

 

After dinner and cleaning up, many of the relatives took their leave in turns. The last to go were John and Jenny, and as they were being walked to the door, John carrying a very sleepy Chris, Tank decided to say his own goodbye to Justin - by hug tackling him one last time in the hallway.

"Oh my God, this dog..." he muttered as he lay under 150 pounds of Newfie. "Yeah, yeah....I love ya too, you big furball."

Later that evening, members of the Gang arrived for 'Friendsgiving' and each brought some kind of leftovers to add to the rather large amount that already stuffed the refrigerator to the brim. Matt and Lainie gladly sat back at the dining room table one more time, and over turkey sandwiches and warmed up sides, chatted with their extended family for a couple of hours. Clay, naturally, sat next to Sheri and discretely, he thought anyway, held her hand under the table.

"Clay, you don't have to hide it," Tony said. "It's not like we don't know or anything."

"Yeah, dude. Here," Cyrus reached over and took Alex's hand into his own and placed it on the table with a grin. "See? Nothing to it."

"Um...okay. Yeah, sure." Clay blushed and brought their hands up, as Justin looked over at Jess and smiled warmly, taking her hand into his own.

"So, how was your first Jensen Thanksgiving, Justin?" Sheri asked.

"It was so good! Man, so much food. And that dog."

"Dog?" Jess asked.

"I keep telling you, Tank is just a big baby is all."

"And I keep telling you, he's a horse is what he is!"

Finally, well past ten, Justin's first Thanksgiving with his new family had come to an end. After their friends had left, he and Clay and their parents shared one last tradition together, watching 'Animal Crackers' and the antics of the Marx Brothers. Following that, the exhausted and happy clan retreated to their bedrooms for the night.

"Hey," Clay poked his head into Justin's room.

"Heya. C'mon in."

Clay walked in, yawning. "Man, I dunno about you, but I am stuffed full."

"Mhmm. The grandmas really did a number on us today."

"So...we need to do one last thing before Thanksgiving is officially over."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Pulling his arm from behind his back, Clay held out the wishbone. "I snuck it after dad carved the turkey in the kitchen. C'mon, make a wish and pull."

Getting up from the bed, Justin walked over and took one end of the wishbone as Clay held the other. "On three," Clay instructed. "One...two...three."

It was a perfect coda to the day.

"What did you wish for?" one brother asked the other.

"More days like this one. With you. And with all of our friends and family. And even that big ass dog."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Justin Jensen."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Mazers!
> 
> So, first and foremost, to those of you in the United States, a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day is filled with family, friends, warmth and love. I'm thankful for all of you - in the U.S. and wherever you are - who read and enjoy my stories!
> 
> As summer turned to fall, I realized that I had the opportunity to explore in the Mazeverse all of Justin's first holidays with his new family, and that is the origin of this story. Like I stated in the opening note, there's some tributes to the Peanuts characters as well (for those of you wondering, Grandpa Frank is named for the Franklin character....Linus or Schroeder would have been too obvious!) I had a lot of fun writing this one and the family interaction in it.
> 
> And yes, that includes Tank! He will probably return at some point, never fear!
> 
> Did you pick up on some clues as to events in the second book of Maze? There's a big one a-comin' and it has to do with Amber. Ah, but I shall say no more, that will have to wait until the spring and all shall be revealed in time!
> 
> So I hope you enjoyed this little one shot, and I really look forward to your comments and feedback. Lots more to come in the days ahead! As always, thank you so very much for reading and stay tuned! Clay and Justin will return soon. Take care!


End file.
